Young Palestinians face serious
employment challenges upon graduation. In 2009,
unemployment among youth 15-24 years old was
28% for men and 36% for women in West Bank and
57% for men and 68% for women in Gaza. To better
understand the reasons behind these poor labor
market indicators, the Ministry of Education and
Higher Education (MOEHE) in collaboration with
the World Bank conducted focus group discussions
with concerned stakeholders in March 2011. This
Quick Note provides a summary of the presentation
on the patterns of education-to-work transitions of
youth in the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) made by
the World Bank team to the focus group meetings. It
also incorporates a summary of the subsequent
discussions.